SMG in the News: BOK Center Exceeding Expectations 5 Years Later

Originally posted at Tulsa World.

Five years are in the books, and Tulsa's BOK Center continues to defy financial expectations.

The downtown arena had its most lucrative year yet between July 2012 and June 2013, netting $1.7 million in profit as large events boosted attendance at a time when its early successes would have been expected to wane along with public interest.

But that hasn't happened.

"We've had success from the beginning, which is great, but I couldn't have predicted that the fifth year would be the best so far," BOK Center Manager John Bolton said.

Since its first show Sept. 6, 2008, the facility has accumulated a profit of $7.6 million, recorded attendance of 3,387,689 over 848 events, remitted $11.7 million in sales taxes and is credited with contributing at least $226.3 million to Tulsa's economy.